Valentine's Day
by cmar
Summary: PRTF: All the Rangers from the future wanted to do was attend Jen and Wes's wedding. Now, along with Wes, Jen, and Eric, they find that those who are ignorant of history are doomed to repeat it. Part 10 'Time' Series. Complete.
1. Prologue

Wes, Jen, Eric, Alex, Lucas, Trip, Katie, Nadira, Mr. Collins, Captain Logan, and all other characters from the show belong to Disney/Saban. I am using them without permission, however I have not and don't expect to make money from this.  
Rachel, Gaby, and Rick are mine.

Rated PG : some language and violence. 

Because of the nature and pace of this story, I will be posting a chapter every day, if ff.net is cooperative. And yes, the rest of the chapters will be a lot longer than this one. This is a bit of an experiment, I hope everyone enjoys it, (and doesn't miss a chapter). As of now, this will be the last in this series of stories. 

Up front, I'd like to thank Al and Cecilia for patiently answering my questions about commercial building electrical systems, and Rach (aka The Fink) and Trixy (aka Mr.Quinn) for lending their names. 

Reviews are appreciated, please take a moment to leave one. 

Valentine's Day

* * *

* * *

Prologue

* * *

He stopped for a moment to look over the house. More than a house, really, a mansion, in the style of such things hundreds of years ago. _Not the past -- now,_ he reminded himself. Despite the many times he had sent others into the past, it felt pretty damn amazing to be there -- then -- now -- himself. Time travel -- you didn't even know the right words to use. 

But he was here now. And he had a job to do. With another quick glance over the manicured lawn, the small, carefully tended flower garden that the path to the front door wound through, the imposing façade, the door with its large windows on either side, he started forward again. A push on the doorbell, a look back towards the main street as he waited. There were cars parked up and down the long driveway, and in an improvised lot on the side of that beautiful lawn. A lot of people were here. Naturally, considering what day it was. They were here for the same reason that had brought the people he had come to find. 

"Sir? May I help you?" 

He turned to find a slender man in formal clothes standing in the doorway staring at him. "Yes, I'm here to see Wesley Collins," he said. 

The man blinked at him with a slightly dazed expression, and swallowed. "I'm afraid that's impossible, sir." 

"Jennifer Scotts? Eric Myers?" 

"They're also -- unavailable." 

"I suppose Alan Collins, too." 

"Yes, sir, he's rather -- um -- busy." 

"Well, I'm meeting a group of friends. We're all part of the bride's party. A man who looks like Wesley Collins but with darker hair, two other men, three women..." 

"Ah." The slender man's face brightened. "Follow me." 

He did, through large rooms, expensively furnished; through crowds of people standing around aimlessly, talking in quiet voices. There seemed to be a slightly hushed atmosphere despite the plentiful food and drink available, and he caught expressions of puzzlement, even worry. As if something was wrong here. Or maybe the feeling came from himself. He knew something had gone wrong, perhaps terribly wrong. Then the man he was following beckoned, opened a door, and ushered him inside. Faces looked up at him, familiar ones, but the exhaustion, the shadowed eyes, the paleness of them was new. They stared at him as the door shut, leaving them alone. 

"Well? What do you have to say for yourselves?" he asked abruptly. 

"Captain Logan, sir, I know this looks bad..." 

"It looks terrible! Unnecessary contact in this time. A disruption in the flow of the timestream. And a time _bubble_, for Christ's sake! No one's ever been able to accomplish _that_ before! Temporal Investigations has involved themselves." 

They exchanged glances that spoke of anxiety, maybe even fear. "Have there been effects in our time?" one of them asked. "How bad is it?" 

Logan allowed his expression to soften. "We're still working on that, but there appears to be no significant damage. T.I. wanted to send a couple of agents, but I persuaded them to hold off and let me come by myself. Tell me exactly what happened, and maybe you'll still have careers to go back to." 

"Thank you, sir." Another shared glance, before the one who had spoken went on. "We have no real excuse for this. Except that we all wanted to see Jen and Wes get married. Stupid, I know, but it seemed harmless enough. The rest of it... well, we had no way of knowing what was about to happen, we were just in the wrong place at the wrong time..." A sigh. "We'll tell you everything we know, what we've been able to piece together between all of us..." 

* * *

TBC... 


	2. Lucas

Wes, Jen, Eric, Alex, Lucas, Trip, Katie, Nadira, Mr. Collins, Captain Logan, and all other characters from the show belong to Disney/Saban. I am using them without permission, however I have not and don't expect to make money from this.  
Rachel, Gaby, and Rick are mine.

Rated PG : some language and violence. 

Reviews are appreciated, please take a moment to leave one. 

Valentine's Day

* * *

* * *

Lucas

* * *

**10:14 AM, February 14, 2004**

"No, only one of us can go." 

"But we're all going to the wedding! Aren't we?" 

"Yes, Katie. We're all going to the wedding." Lucas saw Alex sigh, as he watched from his seat in the pilot's chair of their timeship, with Nadira, Katie, and Rachel looking on from their places, and Trip bent over the ship's scanners, muttering to himself. "But one of us should go to Wes's house first, to scout out the situation and make arrangements." 

"Alex, it's a wedding, not a battle," Katie commented, sounding amused. 

"As you know, we shouldn't even be doing this. We have to take all possible precautions not to interfere with this time." Alex shot a look at Trip, still hunched over the scanner. "Anything wrong?" he asked. 

"No -- don't think so. Just a strange reading -- could be an echo of our timehole -- or feedback..." He swung around to face them. "There's some subspace interference. Enough to limit the range of our morpher comm units." 

"I don't want anyone leaving if we can't communicate with them." 

"I can adjust the morphers, tune them to a clearer signal and boost them a little." He frowned. "It'll be okay for ship-to-morpher, but we won't be able to reach Wes, Jen, or Eric." 

"Is this what the monitors picked up? How significant is it?" 

"Don't think so, and don't know. It's probably just some natural static. I'll keep looking." 

"Good. But if you can't find anything by the time of the wedding..." 

"I know." Trip's face fell. "I'll have to stay here and keep working." 

"I'll stay too, Trip," Rachel offered. 

"If that happens, we'll all have to stay and do the job we're supposed to be here for." Alex looked like he was already reconsidering his decision to let them go to something as frivolous as a wedding. 

"So who do you want to send?" Lucas asked, partly to distract him. 

"Should be someone inconspicuous." Alex briefly eyed Trip's bright green hair, and then Nadira's equally startling pink tresses. "And someone who's been here before and knows their way around. That means me, you, or Katie." 

"That means me or Katie. You weren't here long enough to get to know the place. And you're not going to be inconspicuous if you go walking into Wes's house." He could see the others trying to hide their smiles. They all knew how annoying Alex found his uncanny resemblance to Wes Collins. 

"All right. You." 

"Great!" Lucas jumped up. "Now?" 

"Yes. The sooner the better." Alex scowled and muttered, "I don't know how I let all of you talk me into this in the first place." 

"You did it because you're such a nice guy," Katie was saying as Lucas bent over Nadira's chair. 

"I wish I could go with you," she said with her best little-girl pout. 

"So do I. But this won't take long." He kissed her quickly, aware of the others watching. 

"I'll be counting the minutes, sweetie." Nadira smiled, her voice teasing. 

"Yeah, well. See you soon." Lucas could hear giggling as he headed hastily for the door. 

He was grinning as he keyed it open, and stepped out onto the familiar stretch of beach outside Silver Hills where they had landed before. Where he, Trip, Katie, and Jen had crashed when they pursued Ransik into the past... how long ago now? Three years. Time flies. He shook his head, smiling wryly at the thought. Silver Hills... he could see it in the distance, skyscrapers reaching into bright sunlight, no trace left of the destruction they had seen at the end of their mission, at least not from this distance. But no need to remember such unpleasant things; for once it was a happy occasion that had brought them. 

That produced another smile. Jen and Wes were getting married. They knew the date from history, Valentine's Day, 2004, but very little else. They had all wanted to come, to see their former teammates' wedding, also just to see them again, especially Jen, whom all of them had known and worked with longer than Wes. Briefly he wondered: Was she happy in this time? Was she homesick? Through a bizarre set of circumstances, she had been able to stay here; did she ever regret it? 

But no, she was with the one she loved... something he himself had lately come to appreciate. Lucas glanced back at the ship, where Nadira was probably making the others laugh right now with some outrageous comment. It had become hard to imagine life without her. 

This visit almost hadn't happened. Even Trip didn't quite have the nerve to steal a ship and make a completely unauthorized time jump. Then they had gotten lucky. The Time Force temporal monitoring system had picked up an anomaly in the timestream, originating at this point. Just a glitch, really, probably nothing, perhaps just random variation in subspace, something that could have been monitored further before anyone was sent to check it out. But it had given Alex an excuse to arrange a trip. 

Of course, the rule book said a maximum of two officers should go on a minor mission like this. And it didn't exactly allow bringing a civilian like Rachel. Not to mention making a field trip for a wedding. But -- for once -- Alex had bent the rules to let them all come. Rachel might have had something to do with that; for some reason she had wanted them to do this, maybe to see her boyfriend's former fiancée safely married, or maybe because she wanted Alex to see it. 

Oh, well, pleasant as it was here on the beach in the sunlight and fresh air, watching the waves roll gently to shore -- he had no time to waste. They had bent the rules further to contact Jen with the Chrono-communicator she had kept for emergencies, so they knew the wedding would be held at noon and Wes and Jen were expecting them; but Alex, with his typical caution, wanted someone to scout ahead. 

Lucas took his miniaturized car out of a pocket and set it on the road above the beach. Handy things; they existed at toy-size until expanded by a tiny trigger unit, then they became two-person automobiles. They had all brought them, since riding a vectorcycle wouldn't do their nice clothes any good. In another moment, with the car at full size, he was on his way. 

* * *

**10:59 AM, February 14, 2004**

"Great day for a wedding, isn't it?" Alan Collins looked happy, very happy, his face almost glowing with it as he faced Lucas in the large living room. They were surrounded by activity, unnecessary furniture had been removed, a host of small chairs set up, a buffet table along one wall, bottles lined up behind the bar, the house swarming with caterers, waiters, and other people Lucas couldn't identify. He had been following Mr. Collins around for what seemed like quite a while, trying to get a few uninterrupted moments of his time. 

"Yeah, it is," he responded. "Glad we were able to come." 

"Yes... we're planning to have the ceremony outside, in the flower garden, then the reception party in here; the weather turned out nice, so it should work out, we've got about a hundred guests, tried to keep it small, and of course Jen doesn't have a lot of people coming, just you and a few of the police she works with... I'm babbling, aren't I?" Collins grinned. "Well, it's not every day my son gets married." 

"I sure hope not. And I hope we won't be in the way." 

"Not at all. After all, you're part of the reason Wes and Jen met in the first place. And you're her friends." 

"We need to try to stay out of sight as much as possible." 

"I understand. You can arrive just before the ceremony, and we'll seat you away from the other guests, but with so many people, I don't think anyone will notice you, even your green-haired friend..." 

"Hey, Lucas!" 

He turned at the sound of the familiar voice, and was seized in a hug which he returned enthusiastically. "Wes!" He backed off enough to take a good look at the formal suit his friend was wearing, and wearing very well, Lucas had to admit. "Good to see you! Man, you look great!" 

"And you!" Wes seemed as happy as his father, maybe more, flushed with excitement, but somewhat distracted. "Where are the others?" 

"Back at the ship. You know Alex, he wanted me to check it out first." 

"Yeah, I guess. Listen, we have to talk later, right now..." Wes turned to his father. "We got a report of some kind of disturbance at Bio-Lab. Eric's already there, but I want to go see what's going on for myself." 

"What? But Wes, you can't leave now, the guests will start arriving any minute!" 

"Won't take long." He was backing away from them, heading for the door. "It's probably nothing, I'll be back in plenty of time..." 

"Wesley!" 

"Don't worry, Mr. Collins, I'll make sure he gets back," Lucas said, and hurried after Wes. "Hey, hold up! I'll come with you!" 

Wes didn't answer, but he waited for Lucas to jump into his car before starting it up. Lucas watched him, becoming alarmed as his face changed, worry settling into it. "What's going on?" he asked. "If you're leaving your own wedding..." 

His voice level, Wes answered. "Something's happened in one of the labs. Eric got the call, he didn't tell me much, but he went in. He -- he didn't want me to go, because of the wedding, but now I can't reach him on his cellphone or his morpher." 

"Oh, man. Did you tell Jen?" 

"No. She's getting dressed and stuff, didn't want to worry her." Wes's blue eyes turned to him. "I'm glad you're here, Lucas. Thanks for coming with." 

"No prob. Just sorry this happened now." 

* * *

**11:21 AM, February 14, 2004**

He could almost believe it was three years ago, the middle of one of Ransik's attacks, as they ran down the hallways of Bio-Lab, people staring at them as they went by with frightened faces. But this time, there were no cyclobots, no mutants, no sign of whatever had caused this. Just the smell of smoke hanging in the air, a hallway ending at a windowed double door into a large room in which he glimpsed workbenches and scientific-looking equipment. There were Silver Guardians here, a few of them bent over someone lying on the floor being examined by a man who appeared to be a doctor, another spotting them and coming over, stopping to cough violently. 

"Steve!" Wes exclaimed. Steve Miller, Lucas realized, Wes and Eric's second-in-command. He was wearing a soot-smudged suit, must have been going to the wedding... "What are you doing here? What happened?" Wes went on. 

"Explosion, don't know what caused it..." Steve waved an arm towards the lab. "There's something in there..." 

"Something? What do you mean?" 

"I don't _know_!" Steve's voice was anguished now. "We saw lights -- it's like a lightning storm or something... Eric went in..." 

"Eric -- where is he?" 

Steve said nothing, but his eyes moved to the form lying on the floor. With a soft curse, Wes crossed the distance between them, pushing between the Guardians around him, and knelt beside his partner. Lucas moved behind him, leaning over to get a good look. It was Eric, all right, also wearing a suit, his clothes scorched, black hair singed, his face marked with a red welt and sweat, lines of pain etched in it, his breathing harsh and gasping. Wes hesitated, and Lucas knew why; it would be meaningless to ask if he was all right. 

"Eric? Eric, what happened?" 

Eric's eyes lifted, he seemed to struggle to find strength to answer. "Lightning..." he said finally. 

"What? What do you mean?" 

"It's like -- like lightning -- knocked me right out of morph -- barely got out of there..." 

"Why did you go in? Is there anyone still inside?" 

Eric was silent, but the way his face contracted was answer enough. He reached up as Wes looked at the door into the lab, catching the blond man's arm. "No, Wes, you can't -- too late..." 

"It's okay. Just relax, we're getting help." Wes glanced at the doctor, who nodded, then climbed to his feet and stepped closer to the door. "Who's in there, Steve?" he called. 

"Mike Zaskin and Rick Quinn. But Eric's right, you can't reach them." He paused, just for a second. "They must be dead by now, anyway." 

"I have to try." Wes raised his arm, touching the morpher he was wearing even with his suit, a flashing sparkle of light leaving him in the helmeted red and white suit of the red Time Force Ranger. 

"I'm going in too," Lucas said, with a quick movement transforming into the blue Ranger almost at the same moment. Wes opened the door cautiously. They both stood still for a moment before stepping into the room, hesitating, staring at what was before them, trying to understand what it was. 

It _did_ look like lightening. A ball of crackling electricity, occasional bolts of energy shooting from it to hit floor, walls, ceiling, and furniture, leaving them blackened and smoldering. As they crept slowly closer, they saw that the ball itself was only perhaps a foot across, a deep blue, glittering as if with stars, and translucent, giving them vague glimpses of the objects behind it. It hovered above one of the workbenches at the back of the laboratory, surrounded by shattered machinery. 

"What the hell _is_ that?" Wes asked, his voice slightly unsteady. 

"Beats me. What were your scientists working on here?" 

"This lab... chemical analysis equipment, mostly. Developing instruments." 

"Must have been an accident. Wish Trip was here, maybe he'd have some idea..." 

"Look! There they are!" 

Lucas looked. Two white lab coats lay carelessly discarded in the remains of work stools and machinery only a few feet from the mysterious ball. But there were bodies inside them. 

"Wes, no, too dangerous!" Lucas caught at his friend's arm as Wes started forward. 

"They might be alive! I have to see!" Wes pulled away and took a few more steps. And it happened, even as Lucas reached to stop him again. 

The electrical ball seemed to jump and spark, a thick bolt of sizzling white fire speared from it, hitting Wes squarely in the chest. The red Ranger stiffened, a cry ringing out as he jerked violently before toppling to the floor, another blaze of light bursting from him as he demorphed. 

"Wes!" Lucas dropped to his hands and knees and reached out again, grabbing Wes's ankle. He pulled, but the lightning was too fast, another bolt struck out, brilliance blinding him as it hit both of them. After that, he was aware only of burning pain, and urgency, the need to get _out_, somehow, as he yanked at Wes's heavy and unmoving form. He pulled, and crawled, struggling; the world narrowing to a nightmare of crackling energy and the cold hard floor under him; until suddenly voices were talking, and hands grabbing, pulling him out to safety; and finally he let the darkness come. 

* * *

**11:46 AM, February 14, 2004**

"Alex, oh God..." Lucas stopped talking, unable to go on, looking across the hallway from the corner in which he was curled up miserably. He had regained consciousness maybe five minutes ago, and found himself surrounded by activity, most of it centered on the two bodies lying a few yards away. There were still people clustered around one of them -- Eric -- a team of medical emergency specialists by the look of them -- but the other had been left alone now. Lucas's gaze was drawn to the face despite himself; the dark blond hair, now half burned away, blue eyes, once bright with life and happiness, now dim, open but unseeing. 

Nothing anyone could do... that was what Steve had said, his voice cracking with grief and shock. Nothing. Wes was gone, they could do nothing for him, all of them had to concentrate on the living... Eric, but for how long? He could hear the Guardian commander gasping, straining for air. There was death in every breath. 

Lucas wondered vaguely how badly he himself was hurt, he was alive and conscious, able to stand, but there was pain, how much he didn't have time or energy to be fully aware of. Didn't matter anyway, had to keep going long enough to report in. Try to figure out what had happened, what had gone wrong... 

_"Lucas! What's happened? Report!"_

The voice in his morpher communicator startled him out of a numb daze. He realized he hadn't answered several questions. "Alex... I'm here," he said. "I'm -- I'm at Bio-Lab. There's been an accident." 

_"What kind of accident? How bad?"_ That was Alex, always right to the point. 

The demands of duty braced Lucas; he took a deep breath and answered. "It's in one of the labs. Some kind of -- of energy discharge, but it's still going. Electrical, I think." He paused, his throat closing, and forced the next part out. "Eric went in to try to save a couple of scientists. He's badly hurt. Wes and I went in. Wes is -- is dead." 

_"Dead?"_ There was several seconds of silence before Alex's voice spoke again, its tone harsh but strong. _"Are you injured?"_

"I'm okay." 

_"I'll give you to Trip. Describe the energy discharge, he's been picking up more strange readings, maybe the two of you can figure out what it is."_

"Okay." Lucas looked up as more people came in. Mr. Collins, no happiness on his face now; Jen, somehow pathetic in what would have been a beautiful wedding dress under other circumstances. They both stopped short, then ran to kneel at Wes's side. Another woman in a rose-colored gown whom Lucas dimly remembered as Eric's girlfriend was right behind them, managing to push her way close enough to take Eric's limp hand. 

_"Lucas? Wes is dead?"_ Trip's voice was trembling. _"Are you sure?"_

"Of course I'm sure!" Lucas stopped to take a breath, hearing the way his own voice shook. "Look, we've got to figure out what happened." 

After a slight pause, Rachel's voice replaced Trip's on the communicator, steadying him with its calm tone. _"Lucas. Tell me exactly what you saw."_

Lucas complied, quickly repeating his story with as many details as he could remember, finally turning his face to the wall, not wanting to watch Jen sobbing, Collins with an arm around her, his face blank and white. 

Trip's voice came, bringing him back from the numbness that threatened to take over again. _ "That must be what I'm picking up readings on. Strange ones. Similar to a timehole. Does it look like that to you?"_

"No, it's a sphere. But -- maybe it looks a little like the inside of a timehole." 

Rachel again. _"We're working on it."_

Lucas was lowering his arm when Alex's voice came from his morpher. _"Lucas. How's Eric?"_

Another glance showed the medical team still working, an oxygen mask on Eric's face, his girl clutching his hand, her eyes wide and round with fear. "Not good. But still alive." 

_"Dammit, this doesn't make sense. Nothing in the history files... Stay there, do what you can, see what you can find out. One of us can bring the medical unit if necessary. Then we have to figure out our next move."_

"Okay." 

Lucas struggled to his feet. Do what he could... didn't seem like there was anything useful he could do. Except... he moved closer to the body of his former teammate, and the two people mourning him; Jen now cradling Wes's head in her lap and rocking back and forth, Collins staring unseeingly, seeming to be unaware of anything but his son's dead face. 

"Jen. Mr. Collins. I'm so sorry." 

For a moment he thought they didn't hear him, but then Jen spoke, sounding muffled and choked. "How could this happen?" she whispered. Then, louder, with a note of hysteria, "It's our _wedding_ day! _How could this happen_?" 

"I don't know... But we'll find out, I promise." He watched for a few more seconds, remembering bitterly how he had also promised Wes's father that he would make sure his son came back. Unable to look any more, he turned away to check on Eric, who seemed to be breathing a little more easily with the help of the oxygen mask, but was still obviously in bad shape. 

The lights blinked, dimmed, and faded, all of them looking around fearfully as they brightened again and began to flicker. As his mind was still absorbing that, his morpher bleeped, followed by Trip's voice. _"Lucas? Lucas, my readings are getting stronger. What's happening there?"_

"Don't know. I'll check it out." He went to the laboratory door and put a hand on it. With a deep breath, he forced his fear away and peered through the glass, then opened it a crack, leaning forward to look inside. It was still there, the ruined lab, the obscene ball of midnight blue, stars, and deadly energy, still spinning out bursts of what looked like lightning. Even the two bodies lying almost underneath it... but they seemed closer to it now... With a sudden pang of startled terror he realized what was different. 

"Trip! It's bigger!" 

_"Bigger?"_

"Yeah, must be at least twice the size it was before. And..." he opened the door a bit more, watching, feeling his heart start to pound. "I can see it growing. It's -- it's getting big faster..." He started and looked around as the lights blinked and dimmed again. There was a renewed flare of lightning around the ball. 

_"Oh my God, the readings are stronger -- the rate of increase is accelerating -- Lucas, you've got to get out of there, now!"_

Lucas turned his head, shouting, "We've got to get out! That thing is growing!" Faces turned to stare at him, some fearful, some stricken, only Jen not seeming to hear him. Some of them started to get up. Lucas looked back into the lab. It was faster now, expanding before his eyes, the edge of it starting to sweep towards him across the floor. "Run!" he yelled, backing up. "Run! Now!" 

But it was too late. Even as he stopped to grab Jen and drag her up over a frantic protest, it was too late. The ball was coming after them, fast, its surface intersecting floor and ceiling, so big now it was like a wall of starry blue covered with crawling bands of electricity, a wall that flew at him, over him, a moment of shock and absolute cold, and then... nothing. 

* * *

TBC... 


	3. Alex

Wes, Jen, Eric, Alex, Lucas, Trip, Katie, Nadira, Mr. Collins, Captain Logan, and all other characters from the show belong to Disney/Saban. I am using them without permission, however I have not and don't expect to make money from this.  
Rachel, Gaby, and Rick are mine.

Rated PG : some language and violence. 

Reviews are appreciated, please take a moment to leave one. 

Valentine's Day

* * *

* * *

Alex

* * *

**10:10 AM, February 14, 2004**

"What the hell is going on?" Alex asked. 

"Don't know..." Trip's head was bent over the scanning instruments, Rachel's next to it, the dark auburn of her hair contrasting with the bright green of his. 

"Damn!" Alex took a second or two to calm himself. Shouting and cursing wouldn't help. He brought up his arm and tried again, for at least the tenth time. "Lucas! Lucas, are you there? Report!" Only silence answered, as Katie stared, wide-eyed, and Nadira rose to her feet, clasping trembling hands. "What's happened? What do you see?" he demanded again. 

"We don't know, Alex! If you'd stop distracting us, maybe we could work faster!" Rachel snapped at him, startling him with the annoyance in her voice. She was frustrated, and most of all frightened, he reminded himself. Just what he was feeling now, too, but as leader he didn't have the luxury of giving in to his emotions. Alex dropped into a seat and watched them, as the two scientists of their small group adjusted instruments and exchanged murmurs. Finally, Trip looked up at them, as Rachel continued her task. 

"We got a surge of temporal disruption readings, Alex," the green-haired young man said. "Off the scale. Almost like we went through a timehole. But it's gone now, doesn't seem to have done anything. I'm still getting a reading, but it's back to the level it was when we landed." He swallowed nervously. "But it's slowly starting to get stronger again, just like before." 

"This must be what the Time Force monitors picked up. What's causing it?" 

"Don't know. A malfunctioning timehole generator might do something like this. But there aren't any in this time. Or there shouldn't be." 

"Yes. There's nothing about this in the historical record." Alex thought for a moment. "Is there any way _we_ could have caused this?" 

"I don't see how. Again, if there's a malfunctioning timehole in the area it's possible our timehole could have caused feedback. But I don't see how that could happen in this time." 

"Right." 

"What about Lucas?" Nadira asked in a quivering voice. "What's happened to him?" 

"Don't know that either," Trip said. "That temporal surge doesn't seem to have caused any damage. But..." He exchanged a glance with Rachel. "We can't pick up the signature from his morpher now." 

"We have to find him!" She started for the door, almost reaching it before Alex caught her. 

"Nadira, no. You can't just run out there to look for him." 

"Why not?" She turned accusing eyes up at him. "He could be hurt! We have to help him!" 

"Agreed. But you're not the right person to do it." 

"I want to go, Alex." She surprised him with the unexpected strength and determination in her voice. 

"I know." He tried to smile reassuringly. "But the same restrictions we talked about before still apply. Someone inconspicuous has to go. And -- given the current situation, it should be a trained officer." 

"I'm a Time Force officer!" 

"But you've only been in the Force for a few weeks." He took her hand, squeezing it. "We all understand how you feel, and we want to find him too. But someone else has to go." 

"I'll do it," Katie said from just behind him. 

"No. I'll go. I let you make this trip... If something's gone wrong, it's my responsibility. Just as Lucas is my responsibility. Don't worry, Nadira, I'll find him." He sighed, and slipped on his sunglasses. "Hopefully my resemblance to Wes will be useful for once, and get me into Bio-Lab." 

"Alex..." Rachel blocked his way, for a moment seeming as if she wanted to stop him. But then she gently touched his cheek with her fingertips, her face distressed. "I should never have talked you into doing this. What if-" 

"It's okay. I made this decision all on my own. Don't worry, everything will be all right." 

"Of course." She smiled shakily. "Just -- be careful." 

"Always am." He moved quickly to kiss her, then stepped past. Outside the ship he turned back for a last look, seeing the four of them clustered in the doorway. After a quick and unsmiling wave, he started for Bio-Lab. 

* * *

**11:17 AM, February 14, 2004**

"Look, I know something's going on in one of your laboratories. I know Wes Collins and Eric Myers are -- are injured. I need to get there. Maybe I can help." Alex was almost crawling with frustration and impatience. He had driven to Bio-Lab as fast as he could manage, considering his rather dim memories of the city streets in this time. Since then he must have wasted at least ten minutes on a series of secretaries, guards, and now these two, while Lucas might be hurt, even dying. 

The two Silver Guardians blocking his way glanced at each other. One of them scowled at him. "Commander Collins isn't even here," he said. "You're lying. And you haven't explained who you are. Why you look like him." 

"I'm a relative, of course. Wes's cousin. Here for the wedding." Alex smiled stiffly. It was the best story he had been able to think of. "Everyone says how much we look alike." 

"Yeah." The Guardian still looked skeptical. 

"And I know he's here. He left the Collins house two hours ago. He said there was something wrong here. Where is he?" 

"Two hours ago?" The second man shook his head. "That's ridiculous. Commander Myers is the only one-" He stopped abruptly as his companion nudged him. 

"Well -- where _is_ Eric Myers then? He's injured, I'd like to know how badly..." 

"How did you know about that?" There was even more suspicion in the first Guardian's eyes. 

"Another friend of ours is here, he called me. Look, I need to find out what's happened to him..." 

"Alex?" The voice was familiar, very familiar. And impossible. 

A shock ran down Alex's spine, a tingle of almost superstitious dread, as he turned to look. Frozen, he stared unbelievingly and opened his mouth, nothing coming out until he gasped numbly, "_Wes?_" 

"Yeah. Knew you were coming -- great to see you -- sorry, but I gotta go, catch you later..." Wes looked distracted as he smiled perfunctorily and then started on his way again. 

"No! Wait!" Alex brushed by the two Guardians and started to follow, pulling away as they grabbed at him. "Wes!" he called. 

Wes looked back and said, "Let him come, guys, he's a friend." He waited a second for Alex to catch up, then they both headed deeper into the building at a trot. "Eric got a call, something's wrong in one of the labs. He came in, didn't want me to come because of the wedding, but now I can't reach him..." 

"Wes..." Alex caught at his arm, stopping him. "What's going on? Lucas said you were dead!" 

"Lucas? I don't know what you're talking about." 

"Yes, Lucas is here, he was hurt the same way as Eric -- and you..." 

"I just got here. Haven't seen Lucas." He turned away again. "We don't have time for this. Come on!" 

Alex ran to follow him, a jumble of questions churning in his mind. Could Lucas have been mistaken? Hallucinating? More badly injured than he had sounded? Or was this a fake Wes, somehow? An impostor? Or was the Wes who had been killed an impostor? Why had the two Silver Guardians seemed to think Eric was the only one injured? Why did this whole situation seem to be getting stranger and stranger? 

And things did not improve as they dashed into a hallway ending at the doors to what appeared to be a large laboratory, equipment visible through the doors' large windows. There were more Silver Guardians, some bent over someone lying on the floor, along with a doctor. He and Wes came to a stop as a short, dark-haired man in a scorched-looking suit turned to face them, and started in their direction, stopping to cough painfully. 

"Steve!" Wes exclaimed. "What happened?" 

"Don't know, explosion maybe..." The man gestured towards the lab. "There's something in there..." 

"Something? What do you mean?" 

"I don't _know_! We saw lights -- it's like a lightning storm or something... Eric went in..." 

"Eric -- where is he?" 

Steve didn't answer, but his glance towards the person lying on the floor was answer enough. Wes crossed the room with a muffled curse and knelt next to Eric. Alex followed and watched, noticing the scorched appearance of his clothing -- yet another formal suit, for the wedding -- and a red mark on his face. 

"Eric? Eric, what happened?" Wes asked. 

Eric looked up at him, seeming to struggle with his answer. "Lightning..." he said finally. 

"What? What do you mean?" 

"It's like -- like lightning -- knocked me right out of morph -- barely got out of there..." 

"Why did you go in? Is there anyone still inside?" 

No answer, but Eric's eyes moved to the lab doorway. He reached up as Wes looked also. "No, Wes, you can't -- too late..." 

"It's okay. Just relax, we're getting help." Wes exchanged a glance with the doctor, climbed to his feet and stepped closer to the door. "Who's in there, Steve?" he called. 

"Mike Zaskin and Rick Quinn. But Eric's right, you can't reach them." There was a slight pause before he went on. "They must be dead by now, anyway." 

"I have to try." He raised his arm, reaching for his morpher. 

"Wes, wait!" Alex exclaimed, catching his wrist. "Don't just rush in there." 

"Two of our people are in trouble. I'm not going to just leave them." He twisted his arm out of Alex's grip and stepped back, this time pressing the control on his morpher. The light of transformation sparkled around him, leaving him in the red Ranger's suit Alex himself had once worn. 

"Don't..." But Wes was already through the door, moving fast, then stopping as Alex watched through the window glass. It was his first good look. Equipment tumbled on the floor... the signs of some kind of explosion... two bodies in white lab coats lying still near the far wall. But what claimed his attention was the -- _thing_ that hovered in the air over a work bench, a ball of midnight blue sprinkled with bright points of light, arcs of bright energy bursting from it, blackening whatever they touched. 

This must be what had injured Eric. And it must be what Lucas had seen. The same thing that had killed Wes... but Wes was still alive, and now edging closer, trying to get to the two people on the floor, despite the fact that they were almost certainly dead. A sudden sense of dread overcame Alex. What Lucas had seen -- Wes's death -- it was about to happen again, he was sure of it, the sudden knowledge as hard and cold as death itself. 

He raised his own morpher, waiting only the second or two it took to morph, and opened the door. "Wes!" he shouted, over the crackling noise of the object. "Wes, come back! You're going to get yourself killed!" 

"I'm almost there! Can't stop now!" Wes took another step, and another. Even as Alex started after him, there was a sharp crack and a burst of light as a bolt of electric energy sprang from the ball and hit the red Ranger. He stiffened, staggering back, a quick flash of light leaving him back in his wedding suit. 

"Wes!" Instinctively, Alex moved forward, but another burst came, hitting Wes, striking through him to hit Alex and drive him back, a second jolt making him gasp as he hit the floor and abruptly demorphed. Stunned, he lay there for a moment staring at his double lying unmoving on the floor, then pushed himself back. Wes was too far away, there was nothing he could do to help him now, couldn't reach him without dying himself. As he crawled backwards, hands grabbed him, hauling him through the doors, and out to safety. 

* * *

**11:44 AM, February 14, 2004**

"Trip, I'm telling you, it's some kind of temporal anomaly. I'm looking at a wall clock right now. It's 11:44 AM. It should be two hours later!" 

_"Maybe the clock's wrong?"_

"No, it's not _wrong_!" Alex shouted. "I asked a couple of the Guardians," he went on more quietly, regretting his outburst. "Their watches say the same thing. I've just experienced the same events Lucas told us about. Right down to Wes's death and Eric's injuries." 

_"But -- that should be impossible. Even if we traveled back two hours -- which is impossible -- then where are our previous selves? And where's Lucas?"_

"According to everyone I've asked, Lucas was never here." 

There was a murmur of voices, and then Rachel spoke from his morpher. _"Alex, are you suggesting we're in some kind of time loop?"_

"I don't know! It should be impossible, just like Trip said. But what other explanation is there?" He paused, thinking. "That phenomenon in the lab. Maybe that has something to do with it." 

_"Does it look like what Lucas described?"_

"Exactly. Dark blue, pinpoints of light, electrical energy." 

_"I don't know..."_ Her voice trailed off. 

Distracted by a sudden commotion, Alex looked up. Jen, Mr. Collins, and a woman he remembered as Gaby Butler, Eric's girlfriend, came running in. Just as Lucas had said. They stopped for a moment, before Gaby went to crouch at Eric's side, holding his hand, and Jen spotted him. 

"Alex? Alex, what happened to Eric? Where's Wes?" She ran to him, her face pale and frightened, still in the wedding gown she would have no use for now, Wes's father right behind her and looking no better. "All they would tell us is that both of them were hurt..." 

"I'm sorry, Jen." His throat closed, emotion taking over as her eyes widened. As he glanced through the door glass, and she followed his gaze, and he heard a soft gasp. 

"Wes! No!" She started past him. 

"Jen, you can't!" He grabbed her around the waist, pulling her off her feet when she didn't stop. "He's gone, Jen, nothing anyone can do. If you go in there, you'll only die yourself." 

"No!" She turned a face filled with frantic rage on him, and pushed him violently away. "He's alive! I have to help him!" 

"Jen, stop it..." 

"I'll be okay if I morph... I'll get him out!" 

"I tried, Jen. The suit won't protect you. That's how Wes died." 

"No, I don't believe you!" 

"Jen... Stop him!" Alex shouted and reached to grab Collins before he could get past and inside. For a moment they both fought him, the older man struggling to free himself until two Guardians appeared and took a firm grip on his arms. Then he stood passively, his face slack and shocked. 

Jen almost slipped by while he was distracted. Alex grabbed her again and held her back as best he could, feeling pain only distantly as she pounded a fist on his chest. He pulled her into his arms, wrestling her away from the door. For what seemed like an eternity, they all stood, staring at the half-burned body inside. 

"No, no, no," Jen whimpered. "How could this happen? It's our _wedding_ day! _How could this happen?_" 

"I don't know. Just don't know." 

"Oh, Wes..." She turned her face into Alex's neck, her arms closing around him as he felt her shoulders heave and heard a sob. 

_"Alex!"_ It was his morpher, Rachel's voice, something like panic in it. 

"What is it?" 

_"Trip's getting stronger readings again. If the same things are happening now as Lucas reported-"_

"Damn." Rudely, he pushed Jen into the grip of another Guardian, and took another look through the door, opening it partially. "You're right. It's definitely bigger. And growing." 

_"You've got to get out of there, Alex. Right now."_

He stole a look at Jen, seeing tears trickling down her face, unheeded. Mr. Collins, staring numbly at the body of his son. Eric, still breathing, the medical emergency team working over him, his girl clutching his hand. How was he going to help these people? What could he do? 

_"Alex, we're getting a surge in these readings! Get back to the ship!" _He could hear the fear in Rachel's voice. 

"Too late." The cool calmness he had occasionally experienced before in an emergency took over, steadying him, making his mind quick and sharp. Alex looked into the lab again as the lights suddenly flickered and dimmed to darkness, leaving the inside of the lab lit by surreal flashes of lightning. "The lights just went out. The energy ball is expanding rapidly. The rate of growth seems to be increasing, also rapidly." 

_"Run! Maybe you can get away!"_

"No. No one else seems aware that all of this happened before, including Wes and the others who came from the Collins house. Must have affected the whole city, at least. No way to escape. But if the last two hours repeats again, maybe you'll find a way to stop this." He looked up as the lights flared, flickered, and dimmed again. 

_"But what about you? Alex! Alex, please come back!"_

"Rachel, if there was any way I could get back to you... I wish..." A brief vision of her face. He put out a hand, as if he could touch it. But there was no more to say. He stood still, watching as the curved blue wall came at him, sweeping through the walls and the laboratory door, engulfing him in cold, and dark, and emptiness. 

* * *

TBC... 


	4. Katie

Wes, Jen, Eric, Alex, Lucas, Trip, Katie, Nadira, Mr. Collins, Captain Logan, and all other characters from the show belong to Disney/Saban. I am using them without permission, however I have not and don't expect to make money from this.  
Rachel, Gaby, and Rick are mine.

Rated PG : some language and violence. 

Reviews are appreciated, please take a moment to leave one. 

Valentine's Day

* * *

* * *

Katie

* * *

**10:02 AM, February 14, 2004**

"Alex!" Rachel shouted. "Alex! Alex, _please_..." 

"I'm sorry, Rachel," Nadira said softly. She stepped up behind Rachel's chair and rested a hand on her shoulder. 

"This is all my fault! If I hadn't convinced him to let you do this... Alex and Lucas would still be..." 

"It's okay. It'll be okay. There must be a way to find them. You and Trip can do it." 

"We have to." Rachel's voice was steady and determined now. She reached up to touch Nadira's fingers. "I'll be okay. Thanks." 

"I'm going to Bio-Lab." Katie got up, and stepped to the back of the ship's cabin. 

"Katie, wait. We still don't know what's going on!" Trip's voice was shaking. She couldn't blame him. First hearing that Wes was dead -- Eric maybe dying -- then losing Lucas, now Alex, not even knowing what had happened to them... 

The surge of temporal disruption had hit again, just like before. And disappeared, just like before. And the low-level reading Trip had gotten after they arrived was back, and slowly getting stronger. Just like before. It was all happening all over again, just as Alex had said. 

"Look," she said, turning back to see Trip's and Rachel's backs as they worked frantically, and Nadira staring at her, tears marking her face. "If this is really a time loop of some kind, the way to break it may be to change the events that happened. If I can prevent Wes and Eric from dying, maybe that would do it." 

"Trip's right, we have to have a plan," Rachel said, casting a glance at her. "I think it's time to contact Time Force. Maybe they can advise us." 

They all looked at her silently. Katie bit her lip and nodded. They'd have to explain why there were so many of them on a routine observation mission, and why two of them had left the ship. They would all get in trouble for breaking the rules. But that seemed pretty unimportant right now. The thought came to her that this was exactly why there were so many rules limiting time travel. _Had_ they caused all of this, somehow? If only they hadn't come... The only sound was Rachel's voice, hailing Time Force with their ship's communicator. And trying again, and again. 

"Nothing," Trip said hollowly, checking the instruments. "Can't get through. We're being blocked." 

"Trip -- I think we're in a time bubble!" Rachel said, sounding startled. 

"A time bubble? But that's never happened..." 

"It's possible, according to theory. Stress on subspace... That would explain all of this, the repeating loop of time, and the fact that we can't communicate with Time Force. It would also explain what happened to Lucas and Alex." 

"What? What's a time bubble? And what's happened to Lucas?" Nadira asked. 

"A time bubble can happen when stress is put on subspace by an incorrectly configured timehole. Temporal energy builds up, and turns in on itself -- I can't explain the whole theory. But when the energy builds to the point that subspace can't tolerate it any longer, the timestream resets to a point before the buildup started. Everything repeats, unless something changes. That segment of time becomes a closed loop, with nothing able to come in or go out, which is why we can't communicate." 

"Why isn't time resetting for us, too?" Katie asked. 

"We're protected by the ship's shields, just as it protects us from the forces inside a timehole." 

Nadira asked again, "So -- where are Lucas and Alex?" 

The two scientists exchanged a glance. "They were caught outside the ship, unprotected. If the ship was resetting in time too, they would have reappeared here. But it isn't. And they're not part of the world, the timeline, outside the ship, at the time it's resetting to. There's no place for them to reappear." 

"You mean they're -- gone?" 

"Right now, yes. I can only guess they're in some kind of temporal limbo. But they won't stay there, their matter and energy will have to be restored to the universe. If we can break the loop, hopefully they'll reappear, alive, at the same moment that they disappeared. The endpoint of each repetition should synchronize with the main sequence then, with any anomolies resolving spontaneously--" 

"Never mind that, I don't understand and I have to get going," Katie said. "If changing something may break the loop, I might as well try saving Wes and Eric." She lifted the ship's medical emergency kit and turned for the door. "From what Lucas and Alex said, whatever's causing this is likely to be something at Bio-Lab. I'll report regularly. Try to give you an accurate description of everything that's happening. If this doesn't work, maybe that'll help you for the next time." 

"Katie..." Trip's face was pale and pinched. "Be careful. Remember, you have to get back to the ship before the bubble bursts." 

She smiled. "Don't worry about me. Keep working. We'll beat this." But she knew, even as she ran through the door and expanded her car. There wouldn't be time. Without a flyer, it would take at least forty minutes to get to Bio-Lab. And it was already a quarter after ten. 

* * *

**11:05 AM, February 14, 2004**

Katie slowed to take in the situation as the Silver Guardian leading her turned into a hallway ending with windowed double doors into what appeared to be a half-wrecked laboratory. She had been lucky, made fairly good time and then quickly been spotted by a Guardian who remembered her from their time here in 2001. She took a quick look though the lab doors, seeing the same dark blue ball of energy Lucas and Alex had described, complete with sizzling bolts of what seemed like lightning, and the two bodies lying near it. 

Nothing she could do there, at least not now. She turned her attention to the man lying on the floor nearby, a few Guardians and a medic bending over him. Eric, as she had known it would be, injured and breathing with difficulty, his face marked with burns, his suit scorched. 

"You... you're one of the other Rangers..." It was a short, dark-haired man, also in a formal suit that showed burn marks. Steve Miller, she remembered vaguely; he had been Eric's second-in-command of the Silver Guardians, and now worked with both him and Wes. 

"Yes. I'm here to help." As Steve pulled the doctor away, she knelt by Eric's side and began to set up the medical unit. "Eric?" she asked. "Eric, can you hear me?" 

"What..." His eyes opened, he looked up at her, squinting painfully. "Who...?" 

"It's Katie. I'm going to help you. But I need you to tell me what happened to you." 

"It was like lightning... Hit me hard, drained my morpher, barely got out... What are you doing here?" 

"We're here for the wedding, remember? Then this happened. Did you see anything in there? Anything else strange?" 

"Just that electrical ball..." 

Miller spoke up from behind her. "He went in after Dr. Zaskin and Rick Quinn, one of our junior scientists. Tried to save them, but that -- thing -- hit him. You can see how it burned him." 

"Yeah." She turned on the machine, made a few adjustments and watched the controls long enough to make sure it was working, then stood up. A few steps took her to the lab door again, where she used the medical scanner she had also brought from the ship. "I remember Dr. Zaskin..." She sighed. "They're both dead." 

"I -- I figured." 

"I'm sorry. He seemed like a nice man." 

"He was. Don't know how we're going to tell his wife and kid." Steve leaned his head against the door, staring. Katie left him to his thoughts and returned to Eric, adjusting the med unit and watching her patient, waiting for signs of improvement. 

Running footsteps announced another arrival. Katie looked up to see Wes slide to a stop, staring at her, then at Steve. Right on time. Steve started for him, stopping for a brief coughing fit. 

"Steve!" Wes exclaimed. "What happened?" 

"Explosion, don't know what caused it..." Steve waved at the lab. "There's something in there..." 

"Something? What do you mean?" 

"I don't _know_! We saw lights -- it's like a lightning storm or something... Eric went in..." 

"Eric -- where is he?" 

"He's right here, Wes," Katie called. 

The blond man crossed the room to them and sank to his knees. "Eric?" he asked. "Eric, what happened?" 

"Lightning..." 

"What? What do you mean?" 

"It's like -- like lightning -- knocked me right out of morph -- barely got out of there..." 

"Why did you go in? Is there anyone still inside?" 

"Wes, Dr. Zaskin and another scientist are in there," Katie said. "But you can't do anything. They're already dead." 

Eric reached for Wes's arm. "She's right. Don't try... Too late..." 

"You can't reach them, Wes," Steve said softly. "That's how Eric got hurt." 

"I have to try!" Wes stood up, raised his arm, reaching for his morpher. 

"No!" Katie was on her feet, too, grabbing him and forcing his arm down, not letting him touch his morpher. "Listen to me, Wes. If you go in there, you'll die. I _know_. I scanned for life signs. There aren't any. They're both gone, you can't help them." 

"But..." Wes's face twisted. He looked at Steve again. "Mike Zaskin... Who else is in there?" 

"Rick Quinn." 

"Oh, God..." The slump of his shoulders told Katie he was convinced. She let go, and watched him kneel again, putting out a hand to Eric's shoulder. He looked up at her. "How is he?" 

"He took a heavy jolt, but I think he'll be all right." 

"It's okay, Wes," Eric said. "Don't worry about me. The wedding... you should get back to the house..." 

"I can't get married now." Wes glanced at the lab door, sorrow in his face. 

"What about Jen -- she's waiting... what about the guests, your honeymoon..." 

"I'll call her. The wedding will have to wait. After all --" He smiled shakily. "I can't get married without my best man, can I?" 

Eric's blunt, sweat-streaked face contracted as if in pain. "I _tried_ to save them, Wes, I tried..." 

"I know. No one could have done better. Just relax, everything's going to be okay." 

Eric closed his eyes again, but he seemed to be breathing a little more easily. Katie frowned over the scanner's readings. A lot of internal damage. He really needed more than an emergency med unit, but she could patch up the worst of it, enough to ensure he'd recover. Eventually. With more than a twinge of guilt, she hoped talking wouldn't make his condition worse. 

"Eric, Wes, Steve. We've still got a major problem here. I need to know exactly what happened this morning, and when. The more you can tell me, the better." 

* * *

**11:43 AM, February 14, 2004**

"What do the readings say? Is anything different?" Katie was in a corner of the hallway outside the laboratory containing the ball of energy she and her teammates were now calling the time bubble. She leaned against the wall, morpher held to her face, watching the clump of people near the opposite wall. 

Eric was better; he was sitting up, with help. More people had arrived; Jen, Mr. Collins; Eric's girlfriend, Gaby Butler. Gaby was at Eric's side, an arm around his shoulders, her hand in his; Collins was talking quietly to Steve Miller. Jen and Wes were at the laboratory door, staring through it at the bubble, their hands clasped. 

_"Well -- the reading I'm getting is slightly weaker than it was at this time in the last cycle, assuming I've got the times matched up correctly -- can't be sure, but I think it's not building up as fast."_

"I guess that's something." 

_"Katie, you have to come back to the ship."_

"Too late, unless I manage to break the loop. I'll never make it back. Might as well see what else I can find out here." 

_"Katie..."_ There was anguish in Trip's voice. 

Katie grimaced and forced herself to answer calmly. "I'll tell you the exact sequence of events, everything I know so far. Next time..." She stopped, then continued. "Something happened in this laboratory sometime this morning, maybe around 10:00. No one knows what. Dr. Zaskin came in, dressed in a suit for the wedding, so someone must have called him. Probably Rick Quinn, since nobody else seems to have done it. 

"Zaskin signed in at 10:20. He came to the lab. At right around 10:30 there was an explosion. No one saw it, but witnesses who arrived a few minutes later say they saw the bubble then." 

_"So -- the bubble was created in the explosion -- or maybe it caused the explosion."_

"Right. The Guardians on duty called Steve Miller. He was in the area, on his way to the wedding. Came in, took a look, and called Eric at about 10:40. Eric must have flown here on his Eagle; he arrived at about 10:45. A few minutes later he was injured trying to save Dr. Zaskin and another scientist. He says the bubble hit him with an energy bolt and drained his morpher instantly." 

_"How is he now?"_

"Better. He'll live." 

_"And Wes?"_

"He got here, to the hallway where I am, at 11:22. I stopped him from going in; he's fine." 

_"Well, thank God for that. You saved both of them."_

"But if I can't prevent the time bubble from bursting, it'll all happen again." 

The response sounded reluctant. _"Right. How's the energy ball look now?"_

She joined Wes and Jen at the door, and stared at it. It was bigger. Just as Lucas and Alex had said. With a sinking sense of inevitability, she knew. It was all happening again. Saving Wes and Eric wasn't the answer. But -- what was? There had to be _some_ way... She glanced at the wall clock. 11:50, now. Only ten minutes... 

"Trip, it's growing. How do the readings look? 

_"They're definitely a little lower this time. But it's still building."_ There was a pause. _"You have maybe a couple of minutes longer than before."_

"But _why_? Why is it slower this time?" She leaned her forehead against the glass. "What was the last thing Alex said happened? Right before -- before the end?" 

_"Umm..."_

Rachel's voice came with the answer. _"He said the lights went out."_

"The lights..." She stared. Energy... lightning... the crackle of electricity... "Of course!" she said softly. 

_"What?"_

"Energy! It needs power! Must have overloaded the building's electrical power, that's why the lights went out!" 

_"Then... if you can shut down the power..."_

"Right." She looked around. "Wes. Where's the circuit breaker for this lab? How do I shut down the electricity?" 

"I..." He blinked at her blankly for a moment, then called, "Steve! Where's the circuit breakers?" 

"For the lab? Down the hall to the left..." 

"Come on!" Wes started down the hallway, Katie at his heels. They ran to the corner, she followed him around it, seeing him stop and look around. "Here! This is it!" He pointed to a metal panel set on the wall, and yanked it open to reveal a column of breaker switches. Looking uncertain, he said, "I don't know which ones are for what--" 

"Doesn't matter. Just throw all of them." Katie pushed next to him and began throwing switches. For the first several there was no apparent effect, until she pulled one towards the bottom and they were abruptly thrown into darkness. 

"That's the last one," Wes said breathlessly, stepping back. 

Katie raised her morpher, afraid to ask the question. "Trip. We've shut down power. What are you getting?" 

_"Something's draining our power too, Katie! Definitely some kind of feedback loop. Must be the bubble!"_

"How bad is it?" 

_"Not enough to be a problem... but that thing is still active... We're trying to stop it..."_

"Let's check back at the lab," Wes said. They started back. 

It happened when they had taken only a few steps. A flash, a sudden, almost deafening crack. The crackling sound of electricity. They wheeled around, ducking back and shielding their faces, seeing what should be impossible -- a blaze of light as arcs of energy crawled across the circuit breaker panel. The lights flared back to life, flickered dizzyingly, and dimmed. 

"It's -- it's bypassing the breakers!" Wes cried. 

"Trip! Rachel! It's getting past the breakers somehow!" Katie shouted into her morpher. "Must have sent some kind of surge through the wiring!" 

Rachel's voice came. _"The readings are peaking again, Katie. It's too late. I'm -- I'm sorry."_

"You'll beat this, guys. Save us... I'm counting on you." She looked in the direction of the lab. The bubble was a sphere; it would expand through the walls, too fast to escape, and come after her. Any moment now. 

Wes, at her side, stared at her face and asked shakily, "What's going to happen?" 

She tried to smile. "For you, all of this will start over again. For me..." 

"What?" 

"Nothing. Until the loop is broken." And there it was, blue so deep and dark in the dull lighting that it was only visible by the tiny points of brightness that sparkled in it like stars. Only half a moment to see it coming, to feel fear, then cold, and darkness as empty as space. 

* * *

TBC... 


	5. Nadira

Wes, Jen, Eric, Alex, Lucas, Trip, Katie, Nadira, Mr. Collins, Captain Logan, and all other characters from the show belong to Disney/Saban. I am using them without permission, however I have not and don't expect to make money from this.  
Rachel, Gaby, and Rick are mine.

Rated PG : some language and violence. 

Reviews are appreciated, please take a moment to leave one. 

Valentine's Day

* * *

* * *

Nadira

* * *

**10:05 AM, February 14, 2004**

There had been silence for a few minutes after Katie was gone, as Trip and Rachel worked over their instruments, hopelessness in the slump of their shoulders. Nadira watched Trip hunch miserably and felt a tear trickle down her face. Three of them gone now. Only three left. Only one Ranger left. And this time, she knew there was no choice for her. 

"I'm going this time," she said, proud of how steady her voice was. 

"No," Trip said, turning to face her. "I'm the next logical choice." 

"No, you aren't. We still need to know more about what's happening." 

"We know the building power has something to do with it," Rachel said. "We can try cutting it off sooner. But -- how did it get past those circuit breakers?" 

Trip shrugged. "It's connected into subspace, remember? Maybe it sent an energy surge contained in a subspace tunnel over the wiring. That would have been powerful enough to jump over the breaker, maybe fuse the whole thing." 

"Well -- maybe if the main power was shut off. There must be a set of breakers for the whole building." 

"Maybe. And we have to figure out why it was a little slower this time." 

"Right," Nadira said, standing up. "Katie kept Wes from going in that lab and getting killed. That's the only thing that was really different. Maybe if I can stop Eric from going in and getting hurt, that would make more of a difference." 

"Why? Katie saved both their lives, and that didn't stop it." 

She shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe it was because they got near to the bubble." 

"You know..." Rachel's face lit up. "Eric told Katie his morpher was drained instantly, right? If that thing is drawing power from whatever source it can get -- it took the power from his morpher!" 

"And from Wes's morpher, the first two times," Trip said eagerly. "Even from Lucas's and Alex's. All that energy must have made it grow faster." 

"But... keeping Wes and his morpher away from it barely slowed it down. How much good is it going to do to prevent it getting at Eric's morpher?" 

"Only one way to find out," Nadira said. "I'll head to the Collins house. It takes about twenty minutes to get there. If I hurry, I can catch Eric before he leaves." 

"But I should be the one to go. I'm the only one of us who's a Ranger." 

"Exactly. We can't afford to lose you, Trip, can't risk you unless we have a plan we think will work, or enough time for you to get back to the ship." She smiled at both of them. "Besides, you two are both temporal physicists. I'm not. You're the ones who are going to figure this out and find a way to stop it, not me. All I can do is give you more information. I have my Time Force communicator, I'll report back." 

The two of them exchanged a look, and Nadira knew she had won her point. "Good luck, Nadira," Trip said. 

"Yes. Good luck. Try -- try to make it back here in time." 

"I will. Don't worry." Giving them a grin, she flipped her long pink hair back over her shoulder. "Never give up, and all that stuff. Later." 

* * *

**10:38 AM, February 14, 2004**

"Oh, never mind! I'll wait for him out here!" Nadira scowled angrily at the man with the English accent, the one who refused to tell Eric or Wes she was here. And at the people in the foyer behind him who were staring at her. "It's the hair, isn't it?" she shouted as a parting shot, as she stamped back out and the door swung shut. But it was probably more than that. 

How many of these people remembered her from three years ago? How many might have seen her in person, as she amused herself in this time by robbing stores, as she helped her father to terrorize the city? Could she really blame them for the hostility in their eyes? _But things are different now..._ she complained mentally. Very different. She had seen how wrong her father had been, and she had made the decision to change her life, to do something good and useful with it. It might never be enough to cancel out all of Ransik's crimes, but she could try. As she was trying now. 

And then the door opened again. A man rushed out. Black hair, average height, nice build, a square, hard face that seemed out of place above a formal suit, instead of the navy-blue military-style uniform she remembered. He jumped down the stairs, obviously in a hurry, saw her, and stopped abruptly. 

"Nadira? What are you doing here?" 

"Didn't they tell you? I came for the wedding, with -- with Lucas." 

"Yeah, Jen mentioned it." He eyed her with a touch of suspicion. "Where are the others?" 

"Long story. We have a problem. A big one." 

* * *

**10:41 AM, February 14, 2004**

"Look, I don't have time to explain everything! You've got to believe me!" 

"Why should I? I don't have time for this either. Gotta get to Bio-Lab." With a disgusted look at Nadira, Eric raised his morpher to his face. 

"At least remember what I said! Don't go in that lab! You can't do any good, and you'll only get hurt. Maybe killed." 

"I'll decide for myself what I have to do!" But he paused, and lowered his arm a little. "Time bubble -- time repeating itself. Maybe you've been watching too many movies." 

"How else would I have known what happened at Bio-Lab? When you get there, you'll see. There'll be an energy ball, blue with points of light. Please..." She stepped closer, reaching for his arm. "Please, believe me. Don't go in there. You'll only make things worse." 

"But Dr. Zaskin... Rick..." 

"Dr. Zaskin and Rick are already dead. You can't help them." 

He stared at her, and then stepped back, shaking off her hand on his arm. "I'm going." The morpher raised again, and he said firmly, "Quantum Power!" 

Nadira blinked as light twisted around him, energy crackling as the Quantum Ranger's suit and weapons were brought out of subspace and replaced his clothing. "Eric, please..." she said again. 

"I'll remember what you said." His voice was surprisingly gentle as he added, "Thanks." Then he was calling into his morpher again, and a small flyer appeared above them, swooping down to hover just off the ground. Without another glance, Eric leaped onto the wing and slid into the one-person cockpit. The flyer lifted into the sky. And he was gone. 

She didn't waste time gazing after him. Nadira turned to the door again and went up to it, her lips compressed into a thin line. This time, no one would stop her, even if she had to push them out of her way. She was going to find Wes and Jen. 

* * *

**10:56 AM, February 14, 2004**

Nadira watched their faces anxiously. She had repeated her story for Wes -- again -- and seen the same unbelieving look, although he was polite enough to try to hide it. Then, at her request and in spite of some old-fashioned superstition about his seeing Jen before the wedding, they had gone to the room where Jen was dressing with Eric's girlfriend's help, and she had told it for the third time. _Then_, she had contacted Trip, who had assured both of them, through the communicator, that it was all true. Now she waited, seeing three faces -- Wes, Jen, and Gaby -- stare back. 

"A time bubble. I've heard of the theory, of course, but how could it happen in this time? Who could have opened a timehole at the same time you guys arrived in your ship?" Jen asked. "And a timehole that's not working right; that's the only way it could happen, feedback between two timeholes, at least one of them malfunctioning... Even if it's an unauthorized traveler, why would they be using a timehole that's so badly configured?" 

"I don't know. I was hoping you'd have some ideas," Nadira said. 

"We should go," Wes interrupted, fidgeting nervously. "Make sure Eric doesn't try anything and get hurt, like you said." He paused as Gaby looked up at him, eyes wide. "Maybe there's still something we can do for Dr. Zaskin and Rick." 

"Wes, there isn't. Lucas, Alex, and Katie all said they were dead." Nadira softened as she saw the expression on his face. "I'm sorry. But we can't save them, and we have no time to think about them now. We have to find out--" 

This time Gaby interrupted. "Maybe Rick was trying to build a time machine again!" She turned to Wes and Jen. "Remember the last time?" 

"I sure do," Wes said. "And you're right, it would be just like him to try again, in spite of what happened the last time. And to keep it secret, and go in to test it out on a Saturday. When Bio-Lab would be even emptier than usual, because people would be away for the wedding." 

"I remember that," Nadira exclaimed. "One of your scientists built a timehole, based on the ship you guys crashed in when you first came here. It didn't work right, and Alex had to bring all of you back from sixty-five million years ago." 

"Right. That scientist was Rick Quinn." 

"If he's been experimenting again, that could be what our monitors detected." 

Wes's face became grim again. "Well, if it's true, he's certainly paid for his mistake now." 

"And we have to make sure no one else pays for it." Jen drew herself up, looking grim and determined despite the white satin and lace of her wedding gown. "Nadira, what do we have to do?" 

"We're not sure. Keep your morphers away from it. Try cutting off the building power supply. Besides that, we just have to see what happens, and hope Trip and Rachel can think of something." 

Jen frowned. "It's not much. But I guess we have no choice." She nodded and held her hand out to Wes. 

"I'm going too," Gaby said. 

"No." Wes softened it with a smile. "We need you to keep things under control here. Tell Dad where we went, but don't panic anyone. Tell him we'll be back as soon as we can." He sighed. "I suppose the wedding will have to be postponed. You can tell him that too." 

"But Eric..." 

"Don't worry," Jen said. "Eric's been warned; he'll be careful. We'll make sure he gets back in one piece." 

* * *

**11:18 AM, February 14, 2004**

She felt as if she recognized that hallway, the double doors at the end, a glimpse of the ruined laboratory visible through the doors' glass windows. All just as Lucas, Alex, and Katie had said. Everything except -- there was no body in sight, lying on the floor. Instead Eric was standing at those doors, staring in, his face rigid with tension as he turned at the sound of their approach. 

"I can see them," he said. "I almost went in. Wanted to." 

Wes and Jen stepped next to him, Nadira trying to see past them. "Michael and Rick..." Wes said softly. He rested a hand on Eric's shoulder. 

"I should have at least tried." 

"No. Nadira's right. They're already gone." Wes turned away and exchanged a few words with a short, dark-haired man with soot stains on his clothes and face, whom Nadira recognized as one of the Silver Guardians she had come up against in her career as a thief. 

"Steve, what happened here?" Wes asked. 

"Sir, Dr. Quinn was working in there this morning," he started, interrupted by a cough. 

"Rick Quinn?" Nadira asked. 

"Yes. He was working, and I guess he must have called Dr. Zaskin in. Then I got a call from one of the Guardians on duty, that there had been an explosion. I was near Bio-Lab, came here to check it out." 

"What time was that?" 

"I got the call at about 10:30. Maybe a few minutes after." 

"Did they call you right away?" 

"Yeah, I guess so." He blinked at her, looking confused. 

"It's okay, Steve," Wes said. "Go on. What happened then?" 

"I looked in, saw Dr. Zaskin and Dr. Quinn lying there. I tried to get to them--" 

"You went inside?" 

"Yeah. It started shooting those lightening bolts, or whatever they are. Knocked me down. There was smoke. The ventilators have cleared it now. I -- I couldn't reach them..." 

"You did everything you could, Steve. You should sit down, you look pretty shaken up." Eric had joined them. 

"I'm okay. What are we going to do about that -- _thing_ in there?" 

They all turned to look at her. Nadira gulped and took out her communicator. "Trip, Rachel. I'm at Bio-Lab, with Wes, Jen, and Eric. None of them went in. What now?" 

_"There's a difference in the readings... Without the energy from Eric's morpher, it's not increasing as fast. But it's still increasing."_

"Should we shut off the breakers, like Katie did?" 

_"Try cutting off the main building power, there should be a central set of breakers."_

"Right." She looked up at all of them. "The time bubble needs energy. We have to shut off the electricity. For the whole building." 

"In the whole building? There's a lot of experiments, and a lot of processing going on that would be ruined if the power's cut off," Steve objected. 

"We have to do it," Wes said. "No choice. Eric, you go with Nadira to shut off the breakers. The rest of us will stay here and see what happens. How much time do we have?" 

Nadira shrugged slightly and glanced at the wall clock. "At least until noon. It's about 11:20 now. Forty minutes. Maybe more, since it's not getting big as fast as before." 

"Forty minutes. Let's get moving." 

As she and Eric started for the basement, Nadira's communicator buzzed. She pulled it out and answered, as they began trotting down the stairs. "Yes?" 

_"Nadira, you should start back for the ship now. You should still have time to make it, but just barely."_

"Trip, I can't leave now! Besides, I think we've got it. We'll shut off all the power, and the bubble should just go away, shouldn't it?" 

_"Maybe. Maybe not. It may already be too big."_

Rachel's voice came, worried and intense. _"Remember what happened before? All three times, the bubble burst after the power went off. Shutting off the power may just trigger it."_

"Well, I have no choice anyway. I rode here with Wes and Jen, left my car at the Collins house, and no one has time to give me a ride." 

_"Nadira, how could you strand yourself like that--"_

"Wish I could say I was nobly sacrificing myself, but I just wasn't thinking. Guess I still need more training before I'll be a good officer, huh?" 

_"Don't be silly."_ It was Trip again. _"You're doing a great job. And maybe this time..."_

"Cross your fingers." 

* * *

**11:28 AM, February 14, 2004**

"Here it is." Eric stopped in front of a tall metal panel on the wall, after leading her through a maze of machinery, boxed equipment, and discarded furniture. He pulled it open, revealing a row of large knife switches, and gave her a glance. "I hope you know what you're doing," he muttered, reaching to start throwing them. 

"This'll do the whole building?" She was next to him, bending to pull the lower ones. 

"Uh huh. Then we'll see what that bubble-thing does." He grimaced angrily, as if the time bubble were a living enemy. 

"That's it!" she cried, as the lights flickered. She heard the sound of the last two breakers clicking over as they went out, then were almost immediately replaced by a dimmer glow. "What's that?" she asked. 

"Emergency lights." 

Communicator in hand again, she called the ship. "Trip! The power's off. What are you getting?" 

_"The level dropped -- but just for a moment. It's -- it's starting to rise again! It's still getting power!"_

"Must be the emergency power. It's tapping into that," Eric said.

"Then -- you've got to cut off that emergency generator!" 

Eric raised his morpher to his face. "Wes! It's getting the emergency power now! We've got to shut the generator off!" 

They waited for tense moments before the answer came. _"The generator's locked up. We need to get a building engineer to get in there and shut it down. Hold on..."_ There was another pause. _"We're heading down there. I'll find someone and get back to you. Stay there, someone might try to turn the main power back on."_

* * *

**11:43 AM, February 14, 2004**

They had waited, as the minutes seemed to crawl by at a glacial rate. Eric muttered and paced, Nadira watched him, unwilling to interrupt, and too nervous for meaningless talk. Finally, Eric's morpher called them again in Wes's voice. 

_"Eric, we're at the emergency generator room. They won't turn it off without authorization, but I've got my dad on the cellphone, he's talking to one of the engineers. This guy doesn't want to do it, he wants Dad to call the chief engineer at home..."_

"Then blast the door down!" Nadira shouted. "It's getting late, you've got to shut it off now!" 

_"Jesus -- see what we can do..."_

"Shit," Eric growled. "Want something done around here, have to do it myself. You stay here, make sure no one touches these switches." He took off at a run. 

Nadira heard his footsteps fade, echoing faintly in that darkened basement. Then the hollow sound was gone, and she was alone, with only her fears and the shadows that seemed to start closing in. Just an illusion caused by nerves, she knew, but still... She checked the time. Very close -- why didn't the ship call, to tell her everything was all right -- what could be taking so long... 

Her thoughts abruptly shattered as a sharp cracking sound rang through the still air, accompanied by a flash of light in the distance, followed by the popping sound of some kind of unnatural sparks. Nadira started, gasped, then started to run, her heart pounding with the conviction that something had gone terribly wrong. She stumbled, wishing she hadn't worn the pretty shoes with the heels, but of course they went with the dress -- a moment of regret, such a nice dress, she had tried so hard to look good, and now... 

A wall cut her off. Turning, she went around a corner, and saw it. There was a doorway into a small room, the door now hanging crookedly, a large machine inside it, a low crackling of electricity. And Eric, standing in the doorway, silhouetted against flickering sparks inside for a moment, before he disappeared. 

"Eric?" she called as she ran to the doorway. "What happened? Where's..." She stopped, raising a hand to her mouth, stricken. Jen lay on the floor in front of her, her lovely white gown charred and burnt. Eric was bending over her, feeling for a pulse. After a moment, he straightened and moved on, kneeling next to another body. Wes, dark blond hair singed, wisps of smoke still rising from his suit. Still another form lay nearer the huge machine that filled most of the room, an overweight man in a uniform. Only a glance told her he was dead. 

"Dead. They're all dead," Eric said, his voice soft, his face numb. He looked down, his hand reaching to touch Wes's hair. 

_"Nadira? What's happened? The readings dipped again, but now they're rising fast!"_

"Trip? I -- I don't know. We tried to cut off the emergency generator..." She looked again at the machine, feeling an eerie prickling sensation, seeing the sparks that crawled from it. "Something bad happened, I didn't see it, Wes and Jen are dead, I think they were electrocuted..." 

"It was like lightning," Eric said tonelessly. "There was something like a bolt of lightning, when they tried to shut it off. I was outside, nothing I could do..." He turned a pale face to her. 

_"The readings are climbing fast, just like before."_ There was a pause, the murmur of Trip's and Rachel's voices. _"It's going to happen again, Nadira. Can't think of any way to stop it now. I'm sorry."_

"I'm sorry too. Thought I had beaten it." 

_"If the power was cut off faster... If we could shut off whatever Rick Quinn was doing, before the time bubble forms..."_

"Trip!" Her panic, her grief, they all vanished in the light of sudden determination. They might have only one more shot at fixing this. She had to make sure it worked. "Trip, listen. When the cycle starts again, leave the ship right away. Go to the Collins place. Get Eric to fly to Bio-Lab in that flyer he has." 

_"The TF Eagle."_

"Whatever. He can get there in a few minutes. And he can take you with him. That first explosion is at 10:30. You can get there before it happens! Save Dr. Zaskin and Rick Quinn, do something to prevent it!" 

Another exchange of murmurs. _"Sounds like a plan, Nadira. Thanks."_ There was a hesitation. _"The readings are peaking again. You've only got a few seconds."_

"Okay." Nadira tried not to sound scared. "Good luck. Goodbye. For now." 

She lowered the communicator, put it away, and took a step closer to Eric, still at Wes's side. His eyes looked up at her again, catching the reflections of flickering light. "So -- it's all going to start over again?" he asked. 

"Yes. For you, anyway." 

"All of this..." he looked down at Wes, and at Jen, "won't have happened?" 

"That's right. They'll have another chance." 

"Good." 

And then she could see it, only a glimpse as deep blue and pinpricks of light came down through the ceiling, reaching for her... and she closed her eyes... 

* * *

TBC... 


	6. Trip

Wes, Jen, Eric, Alex, Lucas, Trip, Katie, Nadira, Mr. Collins, Captain Logan, and all other characters from the show belong to Disney/Saban. I am using them without permission, however I have not and don't expect to make money from this.  
Rachel, Gaby, and Rick are mine.

Rated PG : some language and violence. 

Reviews are appreciated, please take a moment to leave one. 

Valentine's Day

* * *

* * *

Trip

* * *

**10:01 AM, February 14, 2004**

"It's started over again." Rachel was watching him as Trip stood up and started towards the door of the ship. "Trip, maybe I should go instead." 

"No. I can ride along with Eric on the Eagle, you can't. Besides, I need you here, to use the scanners and keep track of how we're doing. And to try to find some way of controlling that feedback loop." 

"If..." Her voice trembled, her words so soft he almost couldn't hear. "If you don't succeed..." Through his psychic sensitivity, he could feel her fear, the vision in her mind of him never coming back, leaving her all alone... 

"I _will_ succeed. Even if -- I'll still have time to get back to the ship." 

"Yes." She gave him a wavering smile. "Good luck." 

"Thanks." He turned away, not letting her see how badly his hands were shaking. 

* * *

**10:22 AM, February 14, 2004**

"But, Trip, are you sure?" Wes stared at him disbelievingly, Eric scowled. 

Trip had never driven so fast in all his life, or wished so hard for a flyer. After what seemed like an eternity, but was exactly sixteen minutes, he had skidded to a stop in the Collins' driveway, heedless of the cars he was blocking, and run to the front door. After wasting a couple more minutes on frantic pleadings with the butler and Mr. Collins himself, he had finally been taken upstairs to a guest bedroom where Wes and Eric were dressing. And then he had never talked so fast as he had telling his story, as their surprise slowly turned to alarm. 

"Of course I'm sure! Come _on_, we have to go _now_!" 

"You have to admit, it's pretty unbelievable," Eric said. 

"It's true, damn it! Now get your butt out there and morph, right now!" 

Eric's brows raised and his mouth twitched, but he got up and started for the door. "I'll check it out," he threw back at Wes. 

"I'll tell Jen. We'll find our flyers and follow you." As he followed Eric, Trip heard Wes add in a mutter, "Jesus, can't I even get _married_ in peace? Why can't someone else save the world today?" 

* * *

**10:27 AM, February 14, 2004**

He recognized it, just as if he'd been there before. The hallway, the doors with window panels. Except now, the lab visible inside looked quiet and normal. Except for the tension he could sense from the two men at the other side of the room. One was young, light brown skin, black hair, concentrating so hard on a piece of equipment lying on a workbench that he didn't even notice them coming in. The other was at least ten years older, tall and slender; pulling a white lab coat on over a formal suit, and turning at the sound of their running footsteps, reacting in surprise at the sight of them in their Ranger suits. 

"Dr. Zaskin!" Eric called. "Anything wrong here?" 

The younger man looked up at that. "It's nothing," he said quickly. "Just trying to get rid of a little feedback in my -- my..." 

"That's a timehole generator, isn't it?" Trip asked. He stepped closer, sensing the other man's surprise and guilt. The machine was like a short cylinder, rounded at the ends, studded with various projections, obviously put together from parts not really meant for this purpose. He examined it closely, and heard a faint humming coming from it. 

"I -- what are you talking about? Who are you, anyway?" 

"He's an old friend of Jen's. From the same place she came from." Eric's voice frowned behind him. "And I think he knows exactly what he's talking about, Rick." 

"Rick called and said he was having trouble with an instrument..." Zaskin said. 

"Yeah. Trouble that could get us all killed." 

"Are you experimenting with time travel again? After the last time?" Zaskin demanded. 

"I just wanted to try it one more time! See if I could create a real timehole and control it!" 

"Jesus, Rick... If I had time, I'd kick your butt." Eric again, angry and exasperated. "Trip, now what? How do we shut that thing off?" 

"I don't know. The design's so different, and I don't want to set it off." The humming was getting louder as he bent closer, trying to concentrate. 

"Well, do _something_! It's gonna blow any minute, isn't it?" 

"I don't _know_ what to do! Just -- just get them out of here!" 

"Okay, Michael, Rick. Out. Now." 

"But Eric, maybe we can help!" 

"It's _my_ machine! I'll fix it myself!" 

"And get yourself killed! Both of you, get out that door or I'll blast you and drag you out!" 

An angry Quantum Ranger could be quite intimidating; Trip heard two sets of feet retreating quickly. He raised his morpher. "Rachel! What are you reading there?" 

_"Feedback."_ Her voice was tense but calm. _"It's increasing. I'm trying to dampen it, might buy you a couple of minutes. But don't count on it. Are you at Bio-Lab?"_

"Yeah. It's a timehole generator Rick Quinn was building, all right. But I don't have a clue how to shut it down." 

_"Shut off the power."_

"Trying..." 

_"It's going to explode any minute. And if the time bubble forms, it may be too late to stop it."_

"Thanks," he muttered softly. "I really needed to be reminded." 

_"What?"_

"Nothing. I'll get back to you." 

And then more distraction; he glanced up as the doors burst open to admit Wes and Jen, also morphed. They ran to join them. "What's happening?" Wes asked. "I see you got Zaskin and Rick out." 

"Yeah," Eric answered. "But the genius here can't figure out how to turn that thing off." 

"It's not like there's an off switch!" 

"Eric, you're not helping. Just stay calm, Trip," Jen said soothingly. "Keep trying." 

He looked again, fumbling with his mobile scanner. A few components seemed familiar, but the way it had been built -- like an atomic bomb someone put together in their basement out of tin cans and chewing gum -- it was hopeless, he'd never be able to figure it out in a few seconds. "We have to cut off the power to it!" he cried. 

"We can shut off the circuit breakers..." 

"No time! Where's the plug?" He looked frantically, Wes, Jen, and Eric craning around him, the four of them bumping into each other. There was no plug in sight. He ducked, looking under the bench, with no luck. 

"Must be behind it..." Wes muttered. He reached for the device. 

"No, Wes, don't touch it!" Jen cried in alarm. 

"It's getting louder!" Trip backed away, pulling at Wes and Jen's arms. "It's going to go any second!" 

"God damn it. Everybody get back!" Eric's voice was loud, angry, and commanding. Instinctively, they all obeyed, falling back several steps. Eric pulled out his Quantum Defender and aimed. 

"Eric, no! You don't know what'll happen!" 

"It's a hell of a lot better than nothing." He fired, a beam of light and energy lancing out, hitting the machine. For an instant, there seemed to be no reaction. And then -- a blaze of light, heat, sound, a concussion that hit him like a wall, throwing him through the air and against something hard. He tumbled limply, dazed, came to rest, and struggled against the blackness that threatened. 

* * *

**10:34 AM, February 14, 2004**

"Wow. Everyone okay?" 

Trip blinked at the sound of Wes's voice, realized it was a ceiling he was staring at. It came back. The lab. The timehole machine. The explosion... He rolled onto one elbow, ignoring the wave of dizziness that made his stomach lurch, and looked around. Wes was sitting, Jen was raising her head, Eric was pushing himself up, all of them demorphed. The lab around them had been demolished by the explosion, charred fragments of equipment and furniture everywhere. His eyes quickly flew to the far wall, then around the whole lab. Debris, wreckage. But no midnight blue ball of energy, studded with stars and crackling with electricity. 

Trip raised his morpher, vaguely realizing he was also no longer morphed. "Rachel! What are you getting?" 

_"Trip! I tried to call, thank God you're all right. What happened?"_

"Eric blasted it, there was an explosion... but there's no time bubble. At least I can't see it. What do the readings say?" 

_"The feedback stopped. The subspace interference is gone. Everything reads normal."_ Her voice was trembling again, this time with a joyful tone. _"I think you've done it."_

"Hear that, guys?" he shouted, flopping back onto the floor on his back. "We did it! The bubble never formed this time!" 

"Just remember it was _me_ who blasted the hell out of the thing," Eric said rather smugly, holding up his hand with forefinger extended and blowing away imaginary smoke. 

"Yeah, well, you took a big chance." 

"That's Eric," Wes said with a chuckle. "When in doubt, destroy something." 

"Worked, didn't it?" Eric grinned. 

"Hmm." Trip tried to frown, but he just felt too good. Wes was grinning too. Jen was laughing. 

_"Is everyone there okay?"_ Rachel's voice asked. 

"Yeah. We're all great," Trip answered. 

But that was before Jen got up, took a good look at herself and screamed, "Oh _no_! Look at my _dress_!" 

* * *

**1:38 PM, February 14, 2004**

"Um, Captain Logan, sir? That's it." Trip peered anxiously at his superior officer. They had all told their parts of the story, as they sat in the small but comfortable room Mr. Collins had let them use. He glanced quickly around at the others. Lucas and Alex looked the worst, their suits still showing damage despite Philips' efforts. Katie, Nadira, and Rachel looked tired but otherwise fine. He himself was a mess, he knew, his suit ruined, and exhausted by living through the two frantic hours of the time loop five times. 

"That's not quite all. How did you get Lucas, Alex, Katie, and Nadira back?" 

"We just had to wait, sir. They each reappeared at the time and place the bubble had burst in their timelines, just as we hoped. Alex and Lucas just popped back into the hallway outside the lab at noon. Katie was a little farther away at the circuit breaker panel, and Nadira was in the basement." He smiled, remembering those reunions; Alex and Rachel hugging fiercely, the squeal of delight Nadira had let out when she saw Lucas. 

"So all of this happened because someone here was building a timehole?" 

"Yes, sir. Rick Quinn did build one, but it didn't work right. He was testing it when we arrived in our timeship. His timehole generator started a feedback loop with our engines, and it built up uncontrollably. At about 10:30 it exploded, and the time bubble was created. Then the bubble continued the feedback with our ship, and drew power from whatever source was around, including the electrical system and the morphers. It just kept growing until it reached a point at which it -- burst. And everything reset to when the feedback started." 

"So..." Logan leaned back in his seat, frowning. "What you're telling me is that our suspicions were right, _your ship_ caused the bubble, just as much as Quinn's machine." 

"You're right, sir," Alex answered. "If we hadn't arrived at that exact time, it wouldn't have happened." 

"Yes, if you hadn't arrived. On a trip that wasn't absolutely necessary. Many more of you than were required for a routine monitoring mission. A mission whose real purpose obviously wasn't to preserve the timeline or stop an alteration of history, but to go to a wedding!" 

Alex gulped. "As senior officer in our group, I take full responsibility." 

"As well you should. But all of you are to blame. You, of all people, should know the dangers of time travel, including the dangers of unnecessary contact with the locals." He stopped, glaring at each of them. "Your behavior has been grossly unprofessional. Unworthy of Time Force officers, and even more of Rangers." 

They all hung their heads, not daring to speak. Except Alex. "I apologize, sir," he said. "I know that's inadequate, but it's the best I can do. But I'm the one who should be punished--" 

"You'll all be punished, don't worry about that." Another glare, before Logan's face softened slightly. "However -- this was an entirely unforeseeable event. And if there hadn't been so many of you, you might not have been able to correct the situation. In light of the circumstances, I'm going to recommend all of you be given a week paid suspension from your duties, and an official reprimand to be put in your files." 

Alex blinked, and took a moment to answer. "I -- but sir, that amounts to a slap on the wrist and a week vacation..." 

"Don't argue. And..." He looked at Nadira, still frowning, but his lips were starting to turn up at the corners. "Nadira, you seem to have acted with courage and responsibility in a difficult situation. You also showed a great deal of resourcefulness. I believe you were the one who came up with the plan that finally succeeded." 

"But I didn't do any more than the others..." 

"Quiet." He cleared his throat. "All of those qualities, and teamwork -- which you also demonstrated -- is what makes the Rangers great. I'm going to recommend that you be given very serious consideration as the new white Ranger." 

"Thank you, sir," she said meekly, exchanging a grin with Lucas. 

"And now-" Logan stood up. "While I deplore your foolishness, I think all of you made an even bigger mistake." 

"Excuse me, sir?" Alex asked faintly. 

"You might have asked _me_ if I wanted to come. Do you think I'd miss Jen's wedding?" 

Alex gulped, all of them looked at each other, and then broke out in a confused gabble, mostly consisting of, "We didn't think you'd want to!" and "Of course we would have asked!" and "We're very sorry, sir!" Trip grinned to himself and waited, wondering if he was the only one who had noticed the outfit Logan was wearing, a suit appropriate for a formal occasion. 

Logan waved them silent and smiled. "Everyone ready? Good. We've got a wedding to go to." 

* * *

TBC... 


	7. Epilogue

Wes, Jen, Eric, Alex, Lucas, Trip, Katie, Nadira, Mr. Collins, Captain Logan, and all other characters from the show belong to Disney/Saban. I am using them without permission, however I have not and don't expect to make money from this.  
Rachel, Gaby, and Rick are mine.

Rated PG : some language and violence. 

Last chapter. Many thanks to Cecilia and Jenny for beta-ing, and all the support they've given me over the last more than a year. Thanks to Rach and Mr.Quinn for feedback, chat, and encouragement. Thanks to Shirley for being the first to refer to this fic as 'VD'. And to Dagmar for only threatening to do me bodily harm once. 

This is the last story of this series for now, although there's every chance I'll come back to it eventually. I hope everyone who read it had a good time, and more thanks to everyone who's reviewed and/or emailed. Feedback is very important to a writer (and not only me), review early and often! 

Valentine's Day

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* * *

Epilogue

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_Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue._

The tradition had been almost forgotten in Jen's time, but Wes had reminded her. Old friends. A new life. A borrowed gold necklace that had belonged to Wes's mother. As for something blue... 

She smiled at her old friends as she slowly passed by, all of them smiling in return. Her eyes lingered for just a moment on Alex. Once, she had dreamed of the day she would be married, and imagined him as the groom, waiting for her at the end of the aisle. But now there he sat in the audience, a well-loved friend, a former teammate. And someone else would be her husband. 

Alex's, Lucas's, and Trip's clothes showed signs of the damage done by their morning adventure. The rest of them looked tired but more or less presentable. A glance down showed Jen the marks of soot, ashes, and scorching still clearly visible on her white satin gown, despite frantic efforts to brush them off, not to mention the rips that Gaby had hastily helped sew up. Wes's and Eric's suits were also dirty and torn, but at least it was less conspicuous on the dark material. She tried to hide another smile. They definitely made an interesting-looking wedding party. 

The guests certainly thought so, she could see the shocked glances and hear the whispers, and lifted her chin resolutely. She couldn't blame them, they had been stuck waiting when the ceremony was delayed for almost two hours, with little to do but eat, talk, and most of all drink, and now this. 

But none of that seemed to matter anymore as her eyes settled on Wes waiting for her, Eric at his side as best man, Gaby in her place as bridesmaid. Wes, his face both happy and nervous, blue-green eyes bright, crinkling at the corners as he grinned suddenly. She had the impulse to reach out, straighten his hair, just to touch him... She stepped into her spot and stopped, sharing the smile with him. 

Alan Collins had escorted her, acting as the father of the bride. Now he pressed his fingers over her hand for a moment, softly murmuring, "Ready, Jen?" 

"Ready as I'll ever be." As she let go of his arm, he stepped back, and sat down. She and Wes faced each other again, taking each other's hands. 

"We are gathered together here today to join this man and this woman in matrimony. This is not a condition to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly; but reverently, discreetly, advisedly, and soberly. This is the union into which these two persons wish to enter..." 

They had modernized the old ceremony, while trying to keep its beauty and meaning. They had considered others, of course, both old and new, traditional and original. This, she felt, was lovely; short, simple, elegant somehow. It said all that needed to be said. 

"Do you, Wesley Paul Collins, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer, for poorer, keeping yourself faithful to her, as long as you both shall live?" 

"I do." He smiled as he said it, his hand tightening on hers. 

"Do you, Jennifer Scotts, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer, for poorer, keeping yourself faithful to him, as long as you both shall live?" 

"I do." 

There was more, about marriage and what it means, about love and commitment. About the significance of the two gold rings they exchanged. Jen looked into Wes's eyes, losing track of the words, letting them fade into what her own heart was saying, the one thing that included all the others. 

_I love you, not just the surface, not just the body or the face; not just the way you smile or the way you make me laugh. I love what you are inside, the part that will never change. I love you, and put your happiness above my own. And I always will._

The depths of his eyes answered her, her breath catching at what she saw there. Lost in the small world of themselves, they both almost didn't hear the words everyone else was waiting for. 

"I pronounce you husband and wife." 

Wes and Jen both grinned at each other again for a moment before kissing, holding the embrace as cheers broke out. 

* * *

"You know how much I paid for this damn suit?" Eric grumbled. 

"You told me when you bought it," Gaby answered, lifting her chin to look up at him. "And when you picked it up. And this morning. And at least five times since then." 

"And now it looks like shit." 

"We'll get it cleaned, and I can fix most of the damage, or we can get a tailor to do it. And I think you look very handsome." 

"Hmm. Well, thanks. You look pretty good, too." 

"Pretty good! Wow, what a compliment!" But she smiled, and he knew she was pleased. She did look good, in her rose bridesmaid's gown. 

Eric had never been to a wedding before and had found it quite an experience. The ritual, the details, an attack of nerves that had him repeatedly checking for the ring... The unaccustomed fancy suit, being surrounded by people he hardly knew but had to smile at and shake hands with anyway. And now the reception, noisy and crowded, the guests milling about the large Collins living room. At least there was nothing left to do but be civil to a few more people for a little while longer. He didn't even have to do that right now, while he was dancing; a slow song with Gaby in his arms. He could feel himself start to relax. 

"It was a beautiful wedding, wasn't it?" Gaby went on. "And on Valentine's Day. So romantic." 

Eric looked down into Gaby's face again and smiled slightly. "It was okay, I guess." 

"Just okay? Come on, you liked it." 

He shrugged. "I dunno. All day; stand here, sit there, pose for the cameras, watch the bride and groom shove cake in each others' faces. And if I'd known I'd have to make a toast, I wouldn't have agreed to be best man." 

She peered at him as if wondering how seriously to take him. "Don't be so cynical for once." 

"I've said it before; if I ever get married, I'm eloping." 

"Didn't you like seeing Wes and Jen finally get married? Seeing them so happy?" 

"I give it a week." 

"_What_!" She pouted as he began to laugh at the expression on her face. "Oh. You're teasing. I thought _I_ was supposed to be the one with a sense of humor around here."

"Yeah, I'm just kidding. Wes and Jen are perfect for each other. She bosses him around, he's too nice to object..." 

"Eric..." 

"All right, I'll stop." They swayed to the music in silence for the next few minutes, her chin leaning on his shoulder, her body fitted so well against his. It felt good, warm, complete in some way that was still unfamiliar to him, as she settled even more firmly into his arms, sighing, her breath tickling as it breezed across his neck. 

"Are you happy?" The question took him by surprise as she murmured it, so softly he almost didn't catch the words. 

"What do you mean?" 

"It's not a trick question. Are you happy?" 

"You mean now? Sure, I guess." 

"I mean in general." 

He raised his head to see her face. She looked serious. "I haven't really thought about it." 

"Shouldn't take a lot of thought, should it?" 

"I don't know." He shrugged again. "I like my job. I like Wes and Alan. I like my home. My life is pretty good, I guess. If that's what happiness is, then yeah, I'm happy." 

"Good." She tilted her head, and asked with a half-smile, "You left something out. Do you like living with me? Do you like _me_?" 

He stared down into her face, seeing a deeper question in her eyes. And after all the questions he'd asked himself over the last few months since she'd said it to him, all the times he'd wondered what his own feelings were, all the times he'd tried to tell her and backed down; suddenly he was sure, and it was almost easy. He pulled her close again, chin on his shoulder, and breathed it into her ear. 

"I love you." 

* * *

"Seems like we're always saying goodbye," Alex said. 

"Will this be the last time?" 

"You know I can't tell you that." Wes saw Alex smile, his face, so like a sterner version of his own, softened by the evening light as they stood on the pathway in front of the house, the glow of a rosy sunset spread over the sky above them, the freshness of the distant ocean carried on the breeze. 

The other guests had gone. Wes's father was inside, with Philips and the rest of the help, who were starting to clean up. Only their visitors from the future remained, along with Eric and Gaby, who watched from the doorway. Trip, Lucas, Katie, Logan, Nadira, and Rachel had said their goodbyes already in a round of hugs, kisses, and handshaking, and stood a little distance off, waiting. 

"Jen, I guess this is it," Alex said. "I wish you the best of luck, and a happy life." 

"For you, too. Happiness in everything." 

"Goodbye." He leaned in to kiss her, brushing his lips against her cheek. She only smiled shakily as he turned to Wes, holding out his hand. "Take good care of her, Wes." 

"Don't worry." He looked into his double's eyes, perhaps for the last time, unexpectedly saddened by the thought. "It's been great knowing you." 

"You didn't always feel that way. But thanks." A quick handshake, another smile, and he walked away to join his teammates. They paused for another moment, another look, hands lifting in a last gesture of goodbye before getting into their cars. Wes took Jen's hand as they disappeared down the long driveway, on their way home. 

"You okay?" he asked, seeing the sadness on her face, and the way she quickly brushed at her eyes. 

"Of course. Just a little -- tired." 

"No wonder. C'mon, the wedding's over, and the honeymoon starts tomorrow. Tonight we can relax." 

"Looking forward to it." 

He hugged her to him with an arm around her shoulders as they started back towards the house, stopping as Eric and Gaby came to meet them. 

"Congratulations," Eric said, putting his hand out. 

"Thanks." Wes grinned as they shook. "We finally made it. Now if only we can have our honeymoon without having to save the world more than two or three times, I'll be a happy man." 

Eric smiled. "Been a long road for you two." 

"Yeah." Wes glanced at Jen. "But a good one, most of the time. Worth all the problems along the way." He faced Eric again. "It's been quite a road for us, too, remember? I'm glad we got to be friends. And stayed that way." 

"Yeah, well, me too." Eric looked a little embarrassed, but pleased. He reached out to grip Wes's shoulder for a moment, smiled at Jen, and wrapped an arm around Gaby's waist. "I guess we'll be going. Have a good trip." 

"Try not to let Bio-Lab be taken over by evil mutants while I'm gone." 

"I'll see what I can do. See ya." The two of them walked to Eric's car, indistinct in the near-darkness as they turned for a last wave, a last smile. 

"Alone at last," Wes said as the sound of the engine faded down the driveway into quiet. 

"Except for your father, Philips, and about fifty assorted caterers, cooks, waiters, bartenders, and cleaning people." 

"Yeah. Let's just stay out here for a little while." Wes pulled her into his arms, taking the time for a lingering kiss, their mouths joining gently, lips opening after a moment. It was a tender kiss, with the ease of long familiarity, the confidence of knowing each other's reactions... but also the undercurrent of excitement that touching her always brought. 

"On second thought, let's go inside and sneak into our room," he said. 

"Good idea. I'll show you what I'm wearing that's blue." 

* * *

* End *


End file.
